Budget 2018 'positive' for power sector though fails to address safeguard duties on solar panels

Although there has not been enough for the power sector in terms of what was proposed and what the Union Finance Minister has actually offered in the Budget 2018, the industry has taken it positively. The general perception is the thrust towards ensuring electricity access to all rural households, under Saubhagya and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna, is likely to provide a boost to energy demand, apart from improving the quality of life for rural households.

Further, the mechanism proposed to buy surplus solar energy from solar pumps by the distribution utilities as well as push for deployment of solar energy under smart city programme would facilitate solar capacity addition, given the improved tariff competitiveness of solar energy.

However, the uncertainty over imposition of duties, import duty / safeguard duty / anti-dumping duty including timelines and quantum thereof continues for the solar energy sector. Read More

Tech Mahindra announces Rs 1,956-cr share buybackIT firm Tech Mahindra on Thursday announced a Rs 1,956-crore buyback of its shares at Rs 950 apiece, a 14.59 per cent premium over the current trading price. The share buyback proposal has been approv